GEORGETOWN, Ohio — One of two inmates who escaped from the Brown County detention center has been captured, according to the Mason County Sheriff's Office in Kentucky.
The search for the second escaped inmate is still underway.
The Mason County Sheriff's Office said Roy Butler was located and arrested while Jerry Cooper is believed to be in the Dover area near the Mason-Bracken county line.
We spoke to the Brown County Chief Deputy Linville who says Butler is cooperating. Linville says Cooper is believed to be in the area and they are searching Mary Ingles Highway to the Mason-Brackett county lines and the Ohio River.
According to Linville, two Kentucky State Police choppers, a drone, fish and wildlife and "concerned residents" are helping with the search.
In a release, the Brown County Sheriff's Office said the two escaped between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Monday night. Linville says there is no reason to believe the two had help on the outside.
The inmates damaged a security window, allowing them to escape through the police impound lot at the jail, the sheriff's office said. According to Linville, the inmates crossed the river on a paddle boat and walked from there. Linville says the two split up about a mile away from the Dover Volunteer Fire Department, where Cooper started walking east and was last seen in the area around 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Cooper is considered armed and dangerous and is wearing no shoes with his jumpsuit but sometimes taking off his shirt, Linville says.
According to Linville, Cooper is from the Dover area where he has family and friends. Residents in the area are on lockdown, Linville says, and are encouraged to stay inside.
Cooper was in jail on charges of attempted murder, felonious assault and having weapons under disability. Butler had been charged with aggravated trafficking in drugs and having weapons under disability. The sheriff's office said both men will now face additional escape charges.
According to court records, Cooper was indicted on his charges in May. Court documents say Cooper paid two other men to murder someone. Documents allege that on February 10, one of those men drove Cooper to the victim's house and waited in the vehicle while Cooper rang the doorbell of the home.
When the man living there answered the door, Cooper allegedly shot him in the chest and ran, eventually jumping into the vehicle with the other man.
Court records show Butler was charged with four counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs in July. Documents filed in the case say Butler specifically is accused of selling methamphetamine.
BCSO said anyone who finds Cooper should not approach him and instead immediately contact Detective Sergeant Charles Ernst at 937.378.4435, ext. 126.
